Minnesota Sports Forum

Twins get back on track with a win against Tampa bay fueled by guys that had be struggling in Gordon, Cave, Kepler Rortvedt and even Arraez. Jax was ok but the Pen was overall good again. This team needs starters (especially the rest of this season) but I wonder if at some point Jax would be much more of an asset as a reliever.

Anybody who has played a lot of baseball with some success knows what it feels like to be Jorge Polanco right now...that feeling that the ball looks like a beachball, and you can't wait to get into the batters' box again because you know you are going to hit the ball hard. It's a wonderful feeling, and it can disappear as fast as it appears...but Jorge is enjoying it while it lasts. He is absurdly hot right now. Only 2 major leaguers (Perez and Seager) have more HRs than his 18 since July 1...think about that! He's been really fun to watch the past 2 months+. And he's only 28 years old and just getting into his prime years.

40% of next year's rotation was on display yesterday, and both Ober and Pineda looked sharp. Bremer and Smalley did a great job of contrasting how different these two pitchers are. Ober's release point is so close to the plate, it allows him to get away with a 92 MPH fastball up in the zone. It's amazing how many swings and misses he gets on elevated pitches I'm worried will be hammered! Pineda in contrast works exclusively down in the zone. His sinker is such a heavy pitch and produces a lot of weak contact. We're still going to need to add some frontline pitching before next season, but I'm comfortable with these two guys.

FNG wrote:Anybody who has played a lot of baseball with some success knows what it feels like to be Jorge Polanco right now...that feeling that the ball looks like a beachball, and you can't wait to get into the batters' box again because you know you are going to hit the ball hard. It's a wonderful feeling, and it can disappear as fast as it appears...but Jorge is enjoying it while it lasts. He is absurdly hot right now. Only 2 major leaguers (Perez and Seager) have more HRs than his 18 since July 1...think about that! He's been really fun to watch the past 2 months+. And he's only 28 years old and just getting into his prime years.

40% of next year's rotation was on display yesterday, and both Ober and Pineda looked sharp. Bremer and Smalley did a great job of contrasting how different these two pitchers are. Ober's release point is so close to the plate, it allows him to get away with a 92 MPH fastball up in the zone. It's amazing how many swings and misses he gets on elevated pitches I'm worried will be hammered! Pineda in contrast works exclusively down in the zone. His sinker is such a heavy pitch and produces a lot of weak contact. We're still going to need to add some frontline pitching before next season, but I'm comfortable with these two guys.

Polonco is fun to watch right now.

Good to see Buxton get going with a HR.

A fun double play from the a turtle and Sano.

Rameriez had a wonderful bunt for Cleveland.

Just when I was saying Gant shouldn't be a starter he goes out and has a night like tonight where in the condensed game he looked filthy. Regardless he seems like a guy worthy of a roster spot and that's worth something for a team that needed pitching. Oh I just saw he did have 4 walks...

After losing 3 in a row they bounce back and win 3 in a row and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Can they catch the Royals and not be the worst team in the division? So exciting!!! Lol

monsterpile wrote:Just when I was saying Gant shouldn't be a starter he goes out and has a night like tonight where in the condensed game he looked filthy. Regardless he seems like a guy worthy of a roster spot and that's worth something for a team that needed pitching. Oh I just saw he did have 4 walks...

After losing 3 in a row they bounce back and win 3 in a row and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Can they catch the Royals and not be the worst team in the division? So exciting!!! Lol

Who is John Gant (shameless Ayn Rand pun from Atlas Shrugged...my pick for most overrated book of the 1950s)?. I'm not ruling out Gant as a back of the rotation starter. He needs to grow the shoulder length hair back again so he can match Joe Ryan. He has one of the funkiest deliveries (from the windup...he's normal from the stretch) that I've seen...I would find him very distracting to hit off of. He has a nice split finger (he calls it his Vulcan change) and good velo and could be good if he improves his control. The Cardinals thought of him as a reliever, but Gant wants to start and I think we'll give him a shot next year.

Twins win 4 in a row.

McKinsie for Cleveland might be the skinniest looking pitcher I have ever seen. He threw a pretty good game today although the Twins did help him out with some base running mistakes.

This Joe Ryan looks pretty good.

Sano got a HR and also made some nice plays at 1B.

monsterpile wrote:Twins win 4 in a row.

McKinsie for Cleveland might be the skinniest looking pitcher I have ever seen. He threw a pretty good game today although the Twins did help him out with some base running mistakes.

This Joe Ryan looks pretty good.

Sano got a HR and also made some nice plays at 1B.

monsterpile wrote:Twins win 4 in a row.

McKinsie for Cleveland might be the skinniest looking pitcher I have ever seen. He threw a pretty good game today although the Twins did help him out with some base running mistakes.

This Joe Ryan looks pretty good.

Sano got a HR and also made some nice plays at 1B.

Roy Smalley had an excellent game tonight I thought analyzing why Ryan is so tough to hit. The lowest release point of any starter in the league, and hitters seem to really struggle to pick up his fastball. And not a bad changeup and slider either. His postgame interview was stellar too. Calm and composed. Not at all surprised at his success. Seems kind of pissed Tampa didn't move him up faster!

FNG wrote:

monsterpile wrote:Twins win 4 in a row.

McKinsie for Cleveland might be the skinniest looking pitcher I have ever seen. He threw a pretty good game today although the Twins did help him out with some base running mistakes.

This Joe Ryan looks pretty good.

Sano got a HR and also made some nice plays at 1B.

monsterpile wrote:Twins win 4 in a row.

McKinsie for Cleveland might be the skinniest looking pitcher I have ever seen. He threw a pretty good game today although the Twins did help him out with some base running mistakes.

This Joe Ryan looks pretty good.

Sano got a HR and also made some nice plays at 1B.

Roy Smalley had an excellent game tonight I thought analyzing why Ryan is so tough to hit. The lowest release point of any starter in the league, and hitters seem to really struggle to pick up his fastball. And not a bad changeup and slider either. His postgame interview was stellar too. Calm and composed. Not at all surprised at his success. Seems kind of pissed Tampa didn't move him up faster!

I really like Smalley he really knows his stuff. He also seems like a really cool dude too.

It would be cool to have a really good starting pitcher with a bit of an edge to him.

Albers with a decent outing that gave the Twins a chance at least. Then the Pen followed up with another quality outing.

I'm still not sure what the Sano Quantrill thing was.

The Twins start a lineup with four guys batting .216 or below, and put up 9 runs to back up another nice outing from Pineda. Marvelous Jorge Polanco sets a Twins record for most HRs by a switch hitter, and Buck seems to be finally hitting again after his hand injury.

My excitement level for next season will be high if we can add 1-2 starters...the money should be there. I see Pineda/Ober/Ryan as a nice start to a rotation.